The move was hailed as a small win for historic preservationists, but some professionals near the site fear the City Council will override the requirement.

Jaymont is proposing to build two towers with 603,500 square feet of office and retail space, plus two parking garages. The first tower and garage would be completed by 1992.

The $85 million office complex is planned for a south Orange Avenue block that includes the offices of a dozen architects, planning consultants and lawyers.

Dave Rodgers, an attorney with the law firm of Rogers and Dowling, said the pedestrian level of the district could be destroyed if the facades are not saved.

''What I want to preserve is what is historical along Pine Street as well as Orange Avenue,'' Rodgers said, ''so when you walk down the street you still have that historic feeling.''

In a letter to the city planning board, Rodgers said Jaymont might detract from the district if it does not preserve the facades of the stores.

Rodgers co-owns the Knox-Bacon Building on East Pine Street, a two-story stucco structure built in 1884. The firm bought and renovated the building in 1984. ''We have gone to a great deal of expense in trying to renovate this property,'' Rodgers wrote.

One of the oldest commercial buildings in Orlando, Knox-Bacon is one of only two buildings in the block bound by Pine, Court Avenue, Church Street and Orange not owned by Jaymont. The other building is the Orange County Building and Loan Association at 38 Pine St.

Despite early plans to raze all structures on the site, Jaymont President Floyd Faucette says he will try to develop a plan to preserve the facades and the buildings.

However, Faucette said he was frustrated by limitations set by historic preservationists who he says ''may be a little bit too sensitive'' about older Orlando buildings.

''Right now I wish they would take a little bit more objective approach to what is historic. These buildings are very marginal and may not really even hold up,'' Faucette said. ''I don't thinks it makes much since when the city is trying to grow.''

Most professionals near the site say they want to preserve the historic character of the area. However, at least one said the two stores did not contribute to the city's historic district and did not need to be preserved.

David King and his partner, Bruce Blackwell, have owned a law firm on East Pine Street across from the Jaymont site since 1983. King, a partner with the firm of King and Blackwell said he did not think the buildings had historic significance.

''I frankly cannot get very excited about the historical nature of Woolworth's or McCrory's,'' King said. ''It does not thrill me to try to preserve them.''